Lakhs of supporters on Wednesday gathered for the funeral of Union Minister and BJP leader Gopinath Munde at his hometown Parli, which just yesterday had been preparing to celebrate his victory.
As the emotional crowd turned violent at points, the police had to resort to lathi charges. Demanding a CBI probe into Mr. Munde’s death, which, they claimed was a conspiracy, supporters surrounded the cars of Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Home Minister R.R. Patil and other State Ministers as they were heading for the funeral. The mobs threw stones at the police and even burnt a police vehicle.
Mr. Munde’s eldest daughter and local MLA Pankaja Munde-Palwe was forced to intervene from the stage, where the body had been kept, to calm the crowd. “If you love your leader and want him to be happy, then be disciplined. Let us avoid a stampede,” she appealed.
She later issued a statement saying, “Those who resorted to stone-throwing cannot be Mr. Munde’s followers. I am going to ask Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for a probe into the stone-throwing.”
The casket was kept on the grounds of the Vaidyanath sugar factory set up by Mr. Munde. When it arrived at the venue a little after noon, the waiting crowds tried to break through the barricades to take a last look at their leader. As the situation spiralled out of control, the police resorted to a lathi charge.
The crowd also shouted slogans against Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, considered among Mr. Munde’s rivals.
Mr. Munde was cremated with full State honours, and the pyre was lit by Ms. Munde-Palwe in the presence of BJP president Rajnath Singh. The funeral was attended by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, and senior BJP leaders including Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Prakash Javadekar and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Most of Maharashtra’s Ministers and key leaders were present as was Mr. Munde’s niece Poonam Mahajan.
